We've flown south to the sandy beaches.
Phuket was too touristy and there was nothing in the Lonely Planet to recommend it so the choice was between Koh Samui and Krabbi. We could not get a direct flight to Koh Samui, only Phuket, and Krabbi was nearer so Krabbi it was. A very civilised internal flight later (including meal) of only two hours and a couch trip and we were there along with a large number of Indian construction workers. The south is more Muslim than Buddhist, but it is all Tourist. Aviva wanted the beach guest house, I wanted the town. We are now at the beach. The only shops are tourist ones, a few seven-eleven buy-outs, bars and restaurants. Our first view of the sea was a tropical blue paradise with high rocky islands, like the one that was used in "The Man with the Golden Gun".
Coming to the long deserted Au Nang beach with it's palm trees and beach caves was a great idea. Coming at the start of the monsoon wasn't. The electrical system in Thailand is above ground mixed in with the telegraph poles. It looks like a load of renegade electricians, on the run from a backlog of lawsuits, have taken up residence here and knocked up the power grid as a cheapie because they had a job next door. It doesn't take much to bring it down and a good electrical storm does the job nicely. For some reason the water system always colapses as well. The storms can come in fast and you often change you clothes, go out, and then get drenched again. We frequently run out of dry clothes, but as they have only been worn for a couple of hours at a time it is at least saving money on the laundry.
We had booked a canoe trip and as I cannot swim we had serious safety concerns. Luckily the trip was in the mangrove swamps inland which were positively placid. Maybe this Buddhist thing about good and bad things balancing has something to it. Canoing is hard work on the back, but the trek had a good guide (again) and was well planned. The swamp is just a salt water lake at this time of year and you can paddle amongst the trees and look at the crabs hiding in them. Unlike the USA there are no alligators (we had forgotten to ask) and pretty soon we were travelling inside caves with the most spectacular stalagmites and stalactites you can imagine. The guide did not know which were which either. Often the current would carry you gently through and you can lie back and point at the ones that looked like aligators, mermaids or one of the creatures in "Alien". One of the caves we visited has some of the oldest cave paintings in existence. They include a couple of handprints and you think they were just having a laugh. Until you count the fingers. One hand has six.
We returned to Krabbi in a light storm and visited one of the bars. The staff will play you at games to keep you company and drinking. They are damn good at connect four and I was determined to win a game against their best player. The rain was getting heavier and some was blowing into the side of the bar. I was getting wetter and more determined. Aviva wanted food, but she knows what I am like. It was raining heavily when we left and we had to walk a hundred yards to the sea food restaurant she had found in the guidebook. We had to walk along the sea front itself.
Within twenty yards we were drenched and the only people on the street. We were obviously English or mad dogs. Storms have a habit of going up a notch just when you think they are not going to get any worse. We thought it could not get any worse. It went up a notch. I had given up with my glasses, but visibility was was low due to the volume of rain in the air. We could just make out the bamboo building ahead. It went up a notch. We could not look into the rain as it was hitting us too hard. Palms were bent over and occasionally a coconut would roll past. I wondered how many tourists had been killed by falling coconuts. All English I suspect. It went up a notch. The wind was funnelling the rain along the road that ran next top the beach. We started laughing. What the locals must have thought of these two hysterical drowned out tourists trying to make headway I don't know. They probably could not see us anyway. It went up a notch. Salt spray was being picked up off of the sea in bigger drops and they hurt and stung the eyes when they poured down you face. You could see the bursts of wind by the pattern of water in the now flooded road and when we saw a wave heading towards us we ducked behind a palm and braced for the impact. It went up a notch and we were picking up sand as well. We might have well been standing in a waterfall, but by now we were close to the hut and could see people staring at us. The hut was covered in plastic sheeting and was not subject to a power cut. We presented ourselves to the waiter covered in water, salt, sand and various leaves and debri.
"Table for two?"
yours, Marcus and Aviva.